Chicago Opera Theater presents Albert Herring

Chicago Opera Theater was the first Chicago opera company to perform the beloved works of Benjamin Britten in the city. COT presented the Chicago premiere of Albert Herring in 1979, staged by the great Frank Galati. To kick off its 50th anniversary year, COT looks back on the repertory that made it a staple in the community and returns to its original home- the Athenaeum theater.

Dame Jane Glover returns to COT to conduct Albert Herring. Broadway director Stephen Sposito (resident director for Broadway and touring productions of Wicked, director national tour of Shrek the Musical) makes his COT debut directing a whimsical Albert Herring, marking his second ever foray into the genre of opera.

Composed by Benjamin Britten to a libretto by Eric Crozier, Albert Herring takes place in the fictional town of Loxford, England where none of the young ladies live up to the town’s matriarch’s inscrutable moral standards to be crowned May Queen. The grocer’s son, Albert Herring, however, fits the bill. After being thoroughly mocked by his friends for receiving the honor, Albert takes his first steps into independence by embarking on a night of debauchery.